Ohio EPA to take Lisbon dump to court

Talks with A&L Salvage suspended

By MARY ANN GREIER
LISBON — The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency suspended talks with A&L Salvage in a letter Thursday, with legal action the next move to address numerous violations at the Lisbon dump, including an injunction to stop the acceptance of asbestos material.

“To say that the state has been patient, would, in my judgment, be a considerable understatement,” OEPA Director Chris Korleski wrote .

In the letter, he said he was asking the Ohio Attorney General’s Office to file a complaint in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court against the company to force compliance with the rules and seek a preliminary injunction to prohibit asbestos containing waste from being accepted at the dump.

He also said he planned to continue the procedure to deny issuance of the construction and demolition debris landfill’s license to operate, a procedure which had already begun last year. The company had filed an appeal, but no hearing had been held. Korleski said he’s going to request a hearing be scheduled. An appeal hearing must take place before the license denial can become permanent.

Area neighbors have been complaining about the landfill located on state Route 45 for several years, but the fight became a more concerted effort last year and garnered a trip from Korleski himself to talk with the residents and attempt to answer their questions.

The OEPA cited the dump as a public nuisance in March 2007 in part because of the smell of hydrogen sulfide wafting from the site. The agency issued violation after violation against the dump which has company headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pa., with Korleski asking for an enforcement action in May 2007.

He previously cited a pattern of problems, including the illegal acceptance of solid waste, which isn’t permitted since A&L is a C&DD site, the acceptance of pulverized waste, which can’t be monitored for what’s actually inside, along with the dust and smell concerns.

Some of the descriptions of solid waste material in previous complaints included inflatable beach toys, clothing, business files, beverage containers, milk crates, scrap tires, gift wrapping, Christmas decorations, furniture cushions and other obvious items. Violations had also been issued regarding bags of asbestos being broken open and scattered about.

In his letter, he said the problems of asbestos, air and solid waste violations remain, noting videos taken by OEPA inspectors documented the violations. The letter specifically said the video showed heavy equipment running over bags containing asbestos, resulting in the bags “popping” and likely releasing material into the air. Pickers also weren’t being used to pick out solid waste material from piles and dust was heavy.

The OEPA has been talking back and forth with company officials for over a year in an attempt to resolve the situation, with the letter mentioning a draft consent order, but Korleski asked that future talks take place between attorneys.

“Simply stated, I fail to understand how A & L could operate in such a manner notwithstanding the close scrutiny you have been under from us and a number of your neighbors. It is difficult to comprehend how a facility facing enforcement and license revocation proceedings could operate in this way, especially days after senior facility representatives met with me to make the case that the facility was trying to be a good citizen,” the letter said.

The dump has faced citations in the past, including a fine of $13,000 in September 2006 for the mishandling of asbestos material and a fine of $56,553 in January 2005 for operation violations from March 2002 to November 2004 relating to the acceptance of solid waste, which is illegal for a C&DD landfill.

According to an e-mail from OEPA spokesman Mike Settles, the filing of the court complaint may take several weeks to prepare. No date has been set on the hearing over the license.

Mary Ann Greier can be reached at mgreier@salemnews.net